Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps the Government will take to ensure local authorities can put in place Local Plans which ensure the protection of local green spaces.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Local planning authorities must prepare a local plan as the primary basis for identifying what development is needed in an area, deciding where it should go and dealing with planning applications. Local Plans provide greater certainty for communities, businesses, and developers, enabling local areas to set out their strategy for future development and their approach to protecting and enhancing local character, as well as securing community buy in.
The National Planning Policy Framework acknowledges the importance that open and green space makes to achieving sustainable development. The Framework is clear that local planning authorities through their local plan, and local communities through their neighbourhood plan, can identify and protect green areas of particular importance to them by formally designating them as Local Green Space. This is then classed as a protected area by the Framework and policies for managing development within a Local Green Space should be consistent with those for Green Belts.
Whether to designate land as Local Green Space is a matter of local discretion. The space should be demonstrably special to the local community and hold a particular local significance, for example because of its beauty, historic significance, recreational value tranquillity or richness of its wildlife. This could be in rural or urban settings and can include space created as part of new development.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the Government will take steps to prevent overdevelopment of Green Belt land in its future planning reforms.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
This Government has a manifesto commitment to protect and enhance the Green Belt. Our National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that a local authority should not propose to alter a Green Belt boundary unless there are exceptional circumstances and it can show at examination of the Local Plan that it has explored every other reasonable option: including using brownfield land or optimising the density of development. Within Green Belt, most types of new building are questioned and should be refused planning permission unless there are very special circumstances, as determined by the local authority. These strong protections for Green Belt land are to remain firmly in place.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the relative accessibility to wheelchair users of shops in England.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Government has commissioned research to evaluate the effectiveness of regulatory guidance about accessibility and we will publish the results in due course. We have not undertaken a separate assessment of the relative accessibility of shops for wheelchair users.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that high street shops are wheelchair accessible.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Part M (Access to and use of buildings) of the Building Regulations requires that where building work takes place, including the erection or extension (and in some case material alteration) of a building, reasonable provision is made for access to and use of the building and its facilities. Approved Document M (Access to and use of Buildings) provides guidance on common ways of demonstrating compliance with this requirement. The Equality Act 2010 also places duties on building owners and service providers to make anticipatory reasonable adjustments to the physical features of buildings where a disabled person may be placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to enable local authorities to expedite the removal of unauthorised Traveller encampments.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
We intend to consult on the effectiveness of enforcement against unauthorised developments and encampments. We will seek views on whether there is anything that would ensure existing powers can be used more effectively. We will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on statutory provisions to ensure that all shops in England have facilities to enable wheelchair access; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Part M (Access to and use of buildings) of the Building Regulations requires that where building work takes place, including the erection or extension (and in some case material alteration) of a building, reasonable provision is made for access to and use of the building and its facilities. Approved Document M (Access to and use of Buildings) provides guidance on common ways of demonstrating compliance with this requirement. The Equality Act 2010 also places duties on building owners and service providers to make anticipatory reasonable adjustments to the physical features of buildings where a disabled person may be placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities have appropriate powers to re-coup the cost of repairing damage caused by unauthorised Traveller encampments.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Local authorities have extensive powers to deal with unauthorised encampments, and Travellers can be ordered by a court to pay the court costs of the claim. We signalled our intention to issue a consultation on what more can be done to improve the effectiveness of enforcement powers, and will consider all suggestions carefully.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local planning authorities on whether (a) a Local Plan and (b) other local planning policies can be amended following the granting of planning permission on appeal for substantive development.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The National Planning Policy Framework says that Local Plans can be reviewed in whole or in part to respond flexibly to changing circumstances. Our planning guidance also indicates that a local planning authority should review the relevance of the Local Plan at regular intervals to assess whether some or all of it may need updating. It is for the local planning authority to decide whether and when to review its planning policies.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued on whether the existence of extant planning permission for development in the Green Belt would count as exceptional circumstances to permit a planning application for an alternative, less intrusive form of development in that location.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
An extant planning permission does not prevent consideration of a further planning application for the same site. It would be for the local authority to assess each proposal on its merits, in the light of all material considerations, including the protections for Green Belt set out in our National Planning Policy Framework. If the development proposed would be inappropriate in Green Belt, the Framework states that planning permission should generally be refused. However, if the local authority finds that any harms caused by the development would be clearly outweighed by other considerations, and that very special circumstances justify planning permission, permission may be granted. If necessary the local authority can impose planning conditions or require design changes to mitigate any adverse impact.
A Local Development Order or Supplementary Planning Guidance would also have to be designed by the local authority to accord with policies in the Framework, including the need to protect the openness of Green Belt land.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on (a) a Local Development Order and (b) Supplementary Planning Guidance to facilitate alternative, less intrusive development on a specific location in the Green Belt where there is already extant planning permission for development in that location.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
An extant planning permission does not prevent consideration of a further planning application for the same site. It would be for the local authority to assess each proposal on its merits, in the light of all material considerations, including the protections for Green Belt set out in our National Planning Policy Framework. If the development proposed would be inappropriate in Green Belt, the Framework states that planning permission should generally be refused. However, if the local authority finds that any harms caused by the development would be clearly outweighed by other considerations, and that very special circumstances justify planning permission, permission may be granted. If necessary the local authority can impose planning conditions or require design changes to mitigate any adverse impact.
A Local Development Order or Supplementary Planning Guidance would also have to be designed by the local authority to accord with policies in the Framework, including the need to protect the openness of Green Belt land.